Twins of the Air
by Wingsman
Summary: Nick is a demigod, and with his friends Riley and Danny, he sets out to find his long lost twin...and discover what happened on his birth. DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TLH WRITING FORMAT. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!
1. NICK

NICK

Nick James knew his life was messed up. But until he came to Camp Half-Blood, he didn't know just how messed up it was.

I'd better back up. Nicholas James was a student in New York at a boarding school called Battery Boarding School for Problem Teens. He had no one at the school. He had gotten kicked out of six boarding schools the past six years. He looked good, with blue eyes, and kind of light brown hair. But what he did was what made everyone treat him like a freak.

He never remembered touching anyone, but whenever he got angry, the person or thing that he was angry at seemed to be hanging in the air. The only two people who didn't treat him like a freak were Riley Benward and Daniel Redmond.

Riley was a girl who didn't like to be one of the crowd. But maybe that was just as well. She was always getting into trouble for having a bow and some arrows out at all times. Daniel, or Danny as he liked to be called, was always drinking. Like, drinking wine, drinking.

The first thing he could remember asking them was, "Do you think I'm a freak?" Their answer was, "No. I don't know how you keep getting busted…" Something along those lines. Nick was ADHD and dyslexic. He easily forgot things.

Here at BBSFPT, Nick James was a walking detention ire. He got more detentions than memories. All he got were detentions.

Riley and Danny were no different. They'd all gotten detentions, but not all on the same day. Sometimes only Nick and Riley got detentions one day, the next Riley and Danny, and after that just Nick and Danny. Nick thought that was weird.

He also found it weird that the math/detention teacher, Mrs. Watts growled hungrily whenever she didn't get all 3 of them in detention on the same day…so that was pretty much every day. He bumped into Riley and Danny coming off the stairs.

Lost in his thoughts, he stumbled into them. He exclaimed in surprise when he saw them.

"Riley! Danny!" he exclaimed. He gave each of them a high-five, and then said, "What are you guys doing here?" Riley and Danny exchanged glances, then said harmoniously, "Detention."

Nick paused. "Both of you? Mrs. Watts has been trying to give us a detention all on the same day. I guess today she succeeded."

Danny finished his juice box, then said, "The old crackpot probably wants to give us a medal for getting the most detentions, but couldn't do since we've never gone to detention together before."

Riley cracked up at that, and then said, "We'd better go before she gives _two_ medals!"

Nick laughed, then muttered to himself, "Quite a coincidence, indeed. I wonder…" he said.

He then raced at top speed toward his friends, the detention hall, and…maybe certain death.

He just didn't know that yet.


	2. NICK2

NICK

Still pondering, Nick walked to the detention room. He couldn't get that weird thought out of his head. He tried to make a joke about Mrs. Watts. While they all laughed, Nick couldn't forget his horrible thought.

Nick was thinking about Mrs. Watts' attempts all year long to try and get them a detention on the same day. But it always failed. Today, however, she succeeded.

'It's like she wants us cornered. Together. Separated. I've got to tell Ril-'. He stopped. They were at the detention room. Worse, Mrs. Watts was right at the front, waiting for them.

Nick, Riley, and Danny took their seats. Mrs. Watts remained standing. "You three have been giving us problems."

But before she could finish her obviously well-rehearsed speech, at least in Nick's opinion, Danny cut her off. He was still drinking a juice box, no doubt filled with Kool-Aid, or worse.

"Mrs. Watts, can you just give us our medals so we can leave. That's why you called us down here, right?"

That move was so dangerous; it was what caused Mrs. Watts to attack him first.

"A medal?" she laughed. "Your heads are my medals to present to my patron, Daniel Redmond. I've tried all school year long to get you away from the rest of the school, in detention. I could never…well, it doesn't matter. I will take your heads, all three of you, you will never help the seven!

"Um, what seven?" asked Riley. "What patron? What are you talking about…" She trailed off.

Mrs. Watts had turned into a fiery-haired, pale-skinned, donkey/metal legged monster. Instinctively, Nick cried out, "You're an _empousa_.

Mrs. Watts snarled, then said, "You have no idea how much you've angered the earth, Nicholas James. You're twin shall never be restored! But then again, neither will you!"

She lunged, the turned toward Danny. "Stop drinking and fight, Daniel Redmond!" She bared her fangs, and then pierced Danny's neck.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" hollered Danny. But instead of fighting back, he started drinking _another_ juice box. Nick was rummaging in his bag for a lead pencil. On the first day of school, Mrs. Watts had snarled and backed away from his pencil, a gift from his mother. He found it, snatched it up, and then turned, ready for battle.

Riley, meanwhile, was helping Danny, while avoiding the _empousa_ herself. She managed to get her bow and arrow out of her bag. She nocked two arrows. They hit the monster, but just made her angrier.

"Well, well. Riley Benward," she said. "Yes, we know all about you. Your father's gift will not help you. You will die, right now." She lunged, but never got to Riley. She went rigid, and then muttered, "Ow."

Mrs. Watts vaporized into yellow dust. When the dust cleared, Nick was standing there, with a sword, staring down at the remains of Mrs. Watts. 'Riley, meanwhile, was looking horrific,' Nick noticed, and Danny, seems to be in shock, too.'

Riley shook her head, and then said, "What was THAT all about?" Nick had no answer, and turned to Danny. "What was…" his voice trailed off. Danny was staring at two teenagers, coming out of the wreckage.

One was a boy, the other a girl. The boy raced forward, then said, "_Empousa_. I'm sure of it." The girl stepped forward, and said, "How are they alive? Maybe Jason knows."

Riley trembled, and started to talk, but Nick got the words out for her. "Who are you guys?" he asked.

The boy answered, "This is Piper McLean. I'm Leo Valdez. We know what you just went through. Don't worry, we're not monsters. We've got to get back to camp anyway. Why don't you tell us about it."


	3. RILEY

RILEY

"I'm Riley Benward. This is Nick James. And he's Danny Redmond." That was the first thing Riley said to Leo and Piper.

Leo and Piper were cool. They talked about their own adventures, how they'd freed Hera, the Greek goddess of family. They said some guy Jason would like to meet them. That sounded cool, but as Leo was explaining the whole demigod thing, and how he was a son of Hephaestus, and how Piper was a daughter of Aphrodite, Riley was thinking. Hard. And for her, that was pretty impressive.

Nick and Danny had a lot of questions, but Riley only asked one. And seeing how her best friends just survived a…what had Nick called Mrs. Watts? An _empousa_? Her question was pretty was straight forward. But it caught all of them by surprise.

"You guys are two of the seven, aren't you?"

Leo and Piper pulled back in shock. "How do you know about the Prophecy of Seven?" asked Piper. "What's a prophecy?" Riley wanted to know. She let the unanswered question drop. Riley answered their question honestly. "The monster said something about the seven, and us not helping. It also mentioned Nick's twin?"

She looked at Nick for confirmation. Nick shook his head. "I don't have any siblings, let alone a twin." Leo said, "Maybe Nick's parent took his twin away at birth, if he has one. Did your mortal parent tell you about your birth?"

Nick looked away, and then said, "She always avoided the subject, like was too painful to talk about." He then dropped subject completely.

Leo exclaimed, "She? So your dad must be the god, right?" Nick said, "I guess…wait! My mom! She'll go ballistic if I don't come back home today!"

Piper pulled out a cell phone, and said, "Demigods aren't allowed cell phones. It's kind of against the rules…but as we're flying, make it quick.

Suddenly Riley (who had been thinking all this time and keeping quiet) yelled, "Monsters!" And without thinking, nocked five arrows at once, and hit the smoky men chasing them.

Awestruck, Leo and Piper turned to Riley. Riley gasped then said, "What were those things?"

Leo and Piper acted like it was no big deal. "Storm Spirits," they said harmoniously. They were more interested in how Riley managed to hit all the storm spirits in one shot.

Riley didn't want to answer, and soon she didn't have to. They landed in front of a huge house, milling with people in orange t-shirts.

Riley, Danny, and Nick were speechless. Riley had too many questions, and they all blurred together to make no sense. Then, her eyes shifted to a porky man walking toward them. A boy of about sixteen walked toward them as well. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and had weird marks on his arm.

The boy reached them first. "Hi. I'm Jason Grace. Welcome. Hey, Leo. Piper. See everything went well, huh?

While he went off with Piper and Leo to discuss the mission, the porky man reached them. He spoke as if he were annoyed, kind of the way Danny spoke when he was somewhere he did NOT want be. His eyes were a deep shade of violet, just like Danny's. Danny and this porky man both had dark, curly black hair.

"Welcome to…um, what is the name of this place?" the man shouted across the camp. A dude with a bow just like Riley shouted back, "Camp Half-Blood!"

"Right. What he said. More than likely, your rescuers told you all about demigods, and Greek gods, and blah, blah, blah. So meet Dionysus, god of wine.

Riley stared off into the distance, trying to see this god, but saw nothing. Then she realized the man was pointing to himself. "You're Dionysus?"

"Well, actually, I go by Mr. D here at camp." He glared at her, glanced at Nick, and fixed his eyes on Danny. "And remember that!" But he wasn't really talking to Riley anymore. He was staring at Danny.

Mr. D snapped his fingers, and then a holographic image, blazing with light, appeared over Danny's head. Mr. D vanished. A man on horseback came out of the big house. Or at least that's what Riley thought at first. Then she realized the man was part of the horse. The horse/man looked at the light, then said, "All hail, Daniel Redmond! Son of the Wine God, father of leopards, maker of wine.

Riley glanced up at Danny's head, where the image was fading. But she could still make it out: a vine filled with purple grapes.

Danny looked bewildered, and Riley turned to the horse/man. "How did you know his name?" The horse/man said, "Piper filled me in on you three. I am Chiron the centaur. Jason, will you give Danny a tour? Take him to Cabin Twelve. I know Pollux will be glad to see another Dionysus child. Piper, give Riley a tour, and take her to Annabeth. She'll want to meet…this one. Leo, give Nick a tour. Just take him all over camp."

"See you at dinner," called Chiron. He galloped away. Riley followed Piper out of the common green, toward the cabins.

"Come on, Riley. You'll want to see the cabins."


	4. RILEY2

RILEY

Knowing her bad luck, Riley figured the tour would go wrong at one point or another.

Piper explained all about demigods, and touched up on what Leo had forgotten. She was very patient with Riley, knowing she could break down at any moment.

But Riley was tougher than she looked.

They walked by the cabins, but before they got there, Piper had a question for Riley.

"I have to ask. Did you live with your mom or your dad? Because the parent that you never knew is a god…or a goddess."

Riley answered honestly, which wasn't too often. But she found that Piper could relate. Plus, Piper did look kind of familiar. Like a movie star. What was her last name? McLean? Where had she heard the name McLean before?

"Well, I live with my mom during the time when she isn't sending me off the boarding school," admitted Riley. "So your dad is the god," Piper said thoughtfully. "Well, in that case, better find your dad."

Cabin one reminded Riley of a bank, but she didn't feel any different. Cabin three was shaped like a bunker, with oceans inside. Cabin five looked ugly, with a boar's head, red paint, barbed wire, etc… And what was this?

Cabin seven felt interesting to Riley. It was completely gold, and kids inside were practicing shooting arrows and working on poetry. Riley really wanted to check out this place, but she had to move on.

Cabin nine was like a factory, but Riley didn't like machinery. Cabin eleven was where Riley was staying for the time being, but she didn't like traveling. Cabin twelve was Danny's cabin. Riley didn't like wine, so she figured Dionysus wasn't her dad.

"Can we go back to cabin seven?" asked Riley. "I feel interesting there." 'Piper instantly wanted to say no', Riley could tell. "Later," promised Piper. "Right now, it's dinnertime."

Riley sat next to Nick at dinner. 'Nick had been through a lot', Riley could tell. Danny sat a table away, but couldn't really talk to them over all the chatter. All year long, Riley tried to get Nick to notice her as more than a friend. Nick and Danny were her best friends, and she didn't want to ruin their friendship with something stupid.

Riley wanted to ask Nick out forever, but couldn't work up the courage. Now, she figured since they were inter-related on their godly side, she couldn't date him. What a waste!

Chiron got to his feet (all four of them) and said, "Welcome heroes! A special welcome to our new arrivals. We will be playing capture the flag after dinner. But first, a special announcement. Lord Apollo has given us his lyre, the golden one. He says something big is about to happen, and he should play it when it does. With that said, dig in."

After dinner, and smoke on the dinner, Riley was anxious to see how capture-the-flag worked, demigod style. Chiron announced the teams: "Team Ares: Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Zeus. Team Athena: Athena, Dionysus, Demeter, Hades, and Hermes. Anyone else must confer with Clarisse or Annabeth to sign their cabin up for the game."

Riley put on her gear. She looked ridiculous. Danny was wearing grapevine-embroidered gear and a Celestial Bronze sword. The only reason she knew about the sword was because Piper had explained it to her, down at the forges w/ Leo.

Nick was dressed similar to me, as he was also unclaimed. The campfire was after the game, and then bed. I wanted to see the 'magic campfire' Piper had told me about.

The game was ready to begin. The conch shell blew, and our team raced into the bushes. Riley could see the traps Cabin nine was putting out. And a boy with pale skin was racing right for it. His name was Nico di Angelo, and Piper had warned Riley not to get on his bad side.

Riley yelled out, and Nico stopped. But Leo had already set the trap. He accidentally stepped forward, and sprung his own trap. Leo yelled, and that was the signal for the rest of Team Ares to charge. Riley nocked seven arrows, and knocked the whole of Aphrodite. Team Athena charged back, and midst the fighting, Riley found the flag w/ a boar's head on it.

She took it and raced away with it. She leaped the creek, and the flag shimmered. Riley threw it down, and accepted congratulations from Team Athena. Team Ares let Leo down from his trap, and Leo stared at the flag on the ground.

"Hey," he asked. "Which Apollo camper got the flag?" Everyone stopped celebrating and looked at Leo. "What are you talking about?" That was Jason, demanding what Leo was hollering about. "Look, bro. Apollo is on our side. When Riley grabbed the flag it turned into this."

Suddenly, everyone stared at Riley, and Riley's cheeks got hot. She ran over to Chiron for an explanation. Chiron was absentmindedly playing Apollo's harp, when Riley stormed over.

"That's not how you play the harp. Here…" Riley sat down, with everyone watching, and played the harp and sang a haiku on instinct.

_Standing right here, playing_

_This new instrument of god._

_I feel happy and sane._

When Riley finished, there was a collective gasp, and Riley stared above her head. There was a holographic image, blazing with light. It was a golden circle with a harp in the middle.

Chiron bowed and said, "Hail, Riley Benward. Daughter of Apollo, god of oracle, red cattle, the sun, God of Music.


	5. DANNY

DANNY

Leaving the commons area with Jason, Danny headed for cabin twelve. 'The cabin of Dionysus' Jason had said. Dionysus was the wine god, and was ok by Danny, but if he let anyone know his secret, he'd be kicked out of camp for sure.

Once, when he was eight, he and his mother went to fancy party. His mother was a wine sommelier/connoisseur. She'd warned him not to indulge in wine, but Danny had gone overboard, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He didn't remember much, but he did remember turning into an animal. There was only one animal he could change into, and when he did, after he drank wine, he couldn't control himself. He smelled grapes and wine inside cabin twelve, and…

"Danny, you okay?"

The question jolted Danny back to the present. Jason was looking at him, concerned. "I'm okay, honest," protested Danny. "Wow!"

Cabin twelve looked amazing; it had grapes embroidered everywhere, a stuffed leopard over the door. Inside, there was an altar with a bowl of grapes, around twenty bunks, some video games, and a bar full of grape wine.

A boy was sitting alone in the cabin. He jumped when Jason and Danny approached. "Jason, hey. Care for a game?" asked the boy. "Not now, Pollux. You should get ready for basketball practice. But right now, meet your new brother Danny Redmond," replied Jason.

Pollux sized Danny up, and then said, "So, you're a son of Dionysus, huh? Well, you're name matches. _Red_mond. Like in red wine. Well, welcome to the party cabin. As Dad likes games a lot, we tend to too. Do you like poker?"

Did he love poker? Danny practically made a fortune playing complete strangers in poker. Kids at boarding schools lost, seventy to ninety dollars each playing Danny in poker. "Sure I do," replied Danny.

"Great!" exclaimed Pollux. "Let's play an exhibition round. Winner gets first crack at bar. Danny set up the cards and began to play Pollux.

Danny found Pollux to be a very good opponent. Pollux seemed to have every move in check. But so did Danny. Eventually, Pollux made his mistake, and Danny hit a straight in diamonds, collecting a whopping $130 off Pollux.

"Wow, Danny. You're good. We have basketball practice next, so clean up." He and Jason left cabin twelve, discussing some quest.

Danny glanced up at the ten-foot-tall statue of Dionysus. It seemed to be saying, 'Welcome, kid, to your death sentence.'

Danny hit the snack bar; everything imaginable that was edible was in there. It seemed to take your wants and requests, and then magically appear with that many of whatever you wanted.

Danny drank a lot of wine. He couldn't get enough of it. It seemed to heal whatever scratches Danny had remaining from the _empousa _fight.

Danny drank even more wine. He was about to finish off the wine when Pollux came in. "Hurry! Everything is starting. Get down to the basketball courts. It's game time. Go Dionysus! **********************************************************

The basketball game was great; Danny scored thirty points naturally, and cabin twelve beat cabin four 62-29. Pollux gave him a tour around camp. Everything was so cool, it should have been illegal.

The guy who helped get them to camp, Leo, worked in the forges and helped shape Danny's celestial bronze sword. Riley and Piper came in and worked, too. Leo said that Riley's dagger would be ready tomorrow. Nick had his own sword, but he was still helping Leo in the forge.

At dinner, Riley and Nick sat together at the Hermes' table. Danny sat behind them at Dionysus' table. Mr. D himself sat at the table with Pollux, Danny, and a bunch of satyrs and dryads.

After dinner, and the whole burning of the dinner, Capture-the flag was ready to be played. Danny dressed in his new armor and sword. During the fight, Danny battled several opponent warriors, when Riley grabbed the flag for Team Athena.

Then Leo and Jason started arguing over the flag, and Riley played the harp? Or was it a lyre? She also sang a haiku, and was then claimed by the god Apollo.

After Riley's claiming, everyone went to the campfire. The fire really was magic, just as Jason and Pollux described. Riley and Danny sat with their respective cabins. Nick sat with Hermes' cabin, but kind of seemed distant, being alone and all.

Danny sang with everyone else, and then began thinking. He slipped back in time, thinking back to that fateful night; the night where he'd first discover his unique power from Dionysus, a blessing that had not been given in two hundred years.

Before he knew it, he lost his thoughts, and mentally, he was in that party room, discovering his blessing/curse from his father. In his mind, he turned back to eight years old, and his memories/thoughts turned to his sight. Everything seemed to go black.


	6. DANNY2

DANNY

Danny was somehow in the past; he could see himself at that fancy party. His mother, whose real name was Lizzie, was talking to some other connoisseurs, while her 8-year-old son drank wine like it was oxygen. Not a particularly pleasant sight to the casual observer.

Danny loaded up on wine for the whole night, till the end when it was time to leave. The wine built up, and Danny discovered his gift. Danny, all hyped up on wine, turned into a fully grown leopard.

The leopard went out of control, destroying everything in its path, until Mom poured red Kool-Aid on the leopard, which then turned back into young Danny Redmond.

Mom had scolded him, "Danny, your father gave you a gift. He told me it would be your blessing, but also your curse. Do not get angry, or you will go back to your wine form."

For a few years, Danny kept his anger controlled. Leopard-Man didn't come back…until three months ago. It was the worst day of his life, and Danny was sure he was in a horrible life, that wouldn't end no matter what.

Mom wasn't home. She was on a wine tour of Washington DC, a tour that would then take her to Napa, Denver, Detroit, and Tampa Bay. Danny had been bullied by thugs on the street, who noticed the wine in his backpack.

"Hey, little boy," they jeered. "You want this, then come and get it!" They took his bag and ran. Danny chased them, but grew tired, and his anger turned him into the leopard.

Danny forgot all about controlling his anger, and he, in leopard-form, chased the thugs, who seemed to notice a fully-grown leopard chasing them. Danny caught them, and then beat the living daylight out of them.

However, a by standing policeman saw Danny, which jolted him back to his senses. Danny bolted, while being chased by cops. He found some Kool-Aid at his house, which turned him back to normal. He managed to convince the policeman that the leopard was his pet.

But he was unable to convince them of letting him go. Danny would be sent north, to Battery Boarding School for Problem Teens, as soon as his mom got back.

Danny met Riley Benward and Nick James on his first day there. They treated him like family, but Danny never got around to telling them about Leopard-Man. Then there was the _empousa _attack.

Danny always knew there was something strange with Mrs. Watts, but he did feel kind of bad that his friends, his only friends, Nick and Riley, fended for themselves. All he'd done was get bitten.

Meanwhile, whenever he was around Nick and Riley, he seemed to be more in control. Danny didn't know if that was good or not, but he was afraid, that one day, he would snap, and show his friends his other form.

After reliving those horrible memories, Danny was jolted back to the present at Camp Half-Blood, when he smelled a metallic storm. There was a crack of lightning, and it blasted the campfire, hitting Nick backward. Nick flew into the air and collapsed in the woods. The silent campfire could hear his moans from 1000 yards away. Nick groaned again, and Danny stood up, and tried to follow the sounds.

Danny looked in a clearing, and saw a pile of boulders the pale kid, Nico di Angelo, had called Zeus' Fist. Nick was clearly slumped on it, and furthermore, he was knocked out.

But what really spooked Danny was a blazing holographic image floating just above Nick's head. It was shaped like a lightning bolt. Danny noticed that, unlike his and Riley's signs, Nick's sign wasn't going away.

Danny dragged Nick across the common green toward the campfire. As they got closer, Danny realized they were no longer on the ground. Nick's aura was making them float a few feet in the air, but also electrifying everything that they came across.

The duo reached the campfire. Nick woke up. "What?" he groaned. Chiron looked at Nick's head, and then said, "I might have known after the lightning bolt. Hail Nicholas James! Father of Eagles, lord of the air, Zeus, Lord of the Sky."

Danny was proud of his friend. He started to congratulate Nick, whose sign then began to disappear, but he realized that everything was freezing again. But his consciousness wasn't slipping. Time was freezing.

The only people who were still in time were Nick, Riley, and Danny. Danny looked up…and a book fell on his head. Riley pawed the book open, and said, "It's just a mythology book. Hey, check it out. It says that if twins from that same mythical parent are born in Greek and Roman aspects, and if they are imprisoned, and solidified into another's body, then that person will control the twins' mythical parent's domain.

"What is so special about that?" asked Danny. "Hey, wait. Didn't Jason say he was a sister, um…Thalia Grace, and who is also a child of Zeus. Yeah, and Jason is Roman. I can tell. So shouldn't we protect them?

"Well, actually, Thalia and Jason aren't twins. But while we were flying here, Mrs. Watts said something about Nick's twin, just before Leo and Piper came to get us."

Then, someone descended down on the trio. Danny looked up, and saw a man in a pinstriped suit, and stormy gray hair and eyes." The man glanced at Danny, then at Riley, and then fixed his eyes on Nick. "Well, well. Nicholas James. You've grown. You look so much like Rebecca. I imagine Chip will be glad to see you."

Nick managed to stutter, "How do you know my mom's name? Who's Chip? Who are you?" The man chuckled. The first question is your mom told me her name. The second, you will have to find out for yourself. The third, I am your father, boy. I am Zeus.

Nick nearly fell down. Then Zeus turned to Riley and Danny. "I see you've found your quest companions. But, boy, you and I need to talk in private. You two, well, Nick will explain everything when you wake up. Pleasant dreams."

Danny felt drowsy, but managed to ask a question. "What quest? Who's Chip?" Zeus smiled, and turned to Nick, just as Riley and Danny collapsed.


End file.
